Automatic record changing phonograph



J. A. DARWIN AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING PHONOGRAPH Filed July 28, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. JOSEPH ARA/01.0 .DfiAW/A.

ATTORNEYS.

1933- J. A. DARWIN 1,920,360

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING PHONOGRAPH Filed. July 28 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR. JEPH ARNOLD Dawn m4 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 1, 1933 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING PHONOGRAPHJoseph Arnold Darwin, East Orange, N. J., as-' signer to Wayne, Ind.

the Capehart Corporation,

Fort

- Application July 28, 1931. Serial No. 553,596

13 Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic rec-- ord-changing phonographadapted to play a plurality of records continuously on both sidesthereof.

The principal feature of the invention resides in the means forsupporting a plurality of records to be reproduced on one side andadjacent the turntable, which are automatically transferred into playingposition on the turntable, and returning the record to a suitablemagazine after reproduction, whereupon a new record is transferred ontothe turntable to replace it, the reproduced records being reversed bythe magazine and repositioned so as to again be transferred onto theturntable with their faces reversed so as to play the opposite sidethereof.

This is accomplished by providing a magazine for supporting the recordsbefore and after reproduction, which magazine is bodily reversed afterthe reproduction-ofthe records contained therein on the one side so asto present the other side of said records when again transferred fromthe magazine onto the turntable.

A further feature of the invention resides in the double compartmentreversible magazine so that when in one position the unplayed recordswill be contained in the upper compartment for transfer to theturntable, and upon reproduction thereof will be discharged into thelower compartment, whereupon the magazine will be bodily reversed sothatthe lower compartment of reproduced records will become the uppercompartment containing records to be reproduced in reversed position.

Other features of the invention in respect to the mechanism andoperation thereof for effecting the transfer of records and reversingthe magazine will be hereinafter more fully set forth and described.

The full nature of the invention will be more fully understood from theaccompanying drawings and 'the following description and claims:

. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the phonograph In the drawings there isshown a phonograph mounted 'upon a base support 10 and having a framesupporting a platform 11 upon which is contained in the gear housing 14,drives the spindle 15 upon which the turntable is keyed and whichterminates in the centering pin 16. Mounted upon the base 10, there is arecord changing motor 17 geared to the drive shaft 18 which drives thesprocket wheel 19 and sprocket chain 20. The chain 20, in turn, drivesthe sprocket wheel 21 keyed to the shaft 22 having its bearings in thestandards 23 mounted on the base 10. Operated by the shaft 22, there isa small cam 24 and a large cam 25 for driving the record changingmechanism and controlling the tone arm as hereinafter set. forth.

The magazine 26 embraces an upper compartment 2'7 and a lowercompartment 28 separated by the partition 29. A plurality of records 30to be reproduced are contained in the upper compartment 27, while thereproduced records 31 are discharged from the turntable into the lowercompartment 28.,

The records are transferred from the magazine to the turntable by thetransfer shoe 32 having a projection 33 adapted to engage in the centerhole of the record. Said shoe is caused to move rearwardly into engagingposition with the uppermost record in the top compartment and thereuponmove forwardly sliding said record from the compartment onto a pivotallymounted shelf for placing and centering it thereon. Upon completion ofthe reproduction of the record, the pivoted shelf lifts the record fromthe turntable and elevates it at such .an incline as to cause it toslide by gravity into the lower compartment 28.

The magazine is mounted on an incline as illustrated in Fig. 1 forrotation with the shaft 34 mounted upon the incline bracket 35. Therotation of the magazine is obtained throughthe strap 36 passing aboutpulleys 37 and connected with the chain 38 having the free end thereofconnected with the tension spring 39 which is secured to the base 10.Said chain 38 is adapted to engage the teeth over a sprocket wheel 40having ratchet teeth 41.

Pivotally mounted to the bracket 35 there is a pawl 42 positioned toforce the latch 42a into locking engagement with the ratchet teeth 41,said latch being pivotally mounted upon the collar 42b keyed to theshaft 34. The levers 43 and 44 are pivotally mounted on the magazine andconnected with the sliding pin 45, which is so positioned as to hold thepawl 42 out of engagement with the latch 42a when one of said levers isin elevated position as shown. Said levers are provided with the fingers46 adapted to drop by gravity through an opening in the top of themagazine so as to bear against the uppermost record therein.

In operation, upon the record-changing motor 17 being operated, it willcause the strap 36 to rotate the gear 40 a half revolution against thetension of the spring 39. wherein the upper compartment of the magazinemay contain.

one or more records engaged by the fingers 46, the lever 43 through thepin 45 will cause the pawl 42 to be held out of engagement with thelatch 42a. Therefore, the return movement of the strap 36 and gear 40created by the tension of the spring 39 in the opposite direction willhave no effect upon the magazine so long as it contains a record in theupper compartment. However, upon all records being removed therefrom,the fingers 46 will be permitted to drop to such position as to causethe pawl 42 to be released and drop by gravity into engagement with thelatch 420; so that the next time the gear 40 is rotated a halfrevolution by the spring 39, it will rotate the magazine therewiththrough the latch 42a so that the other compartment will be in uppermostposition.

Thus, upon the upper compartment being exhausted, during which time thelower compartment is filled with records reproduced on one side thereof,the magazine will be bodily reversed so that the records in the lowercompartment Will be reversed and fill the upper compartment ready fortransfer to the turntable with the unreproduced side in playingposition. This cycle is repeated indefinitely so that the records willbe reproduced first on one side and then the other in a continuousoperation.

Mounted on the table 11, there is a bracket 50 having a slot 51 therein.Pivotally mounted adjacent thereto upon the rod ,52 there is a recordtransfer shelf 53 which, in horizontal position, embraces the turntablewhile the record is being reproduced. Upon completion pf thereproduction of the record, the shelf i's'iswung upwardly about thepivotal mounting 52 so as to carry a record therewith and cause it toslide rearwardlyinto the compartment 28 by gravity. As the shelf islowered, the shoe 32 slides the new record 30 thereon for lowering intoplaying position on the turntable.

The stop pins 54 are movable in and out of record engaging position atthe rear of the shelf so that it will protrude when the shelf is inpartially elevated position to prevent the record from sliding thereoffuntil the shelf is elevated to its maximum angle, whereupon the pin islowered'to release the record and permit it to slide therefrom. As theshelf is being lowered, and before a new record is positioned thereon,the pins 54 are caused to protrude sufiiciently to prevent the newrecord from sliding from the shelf while being lowered onto theturntable. This is accomplished by the carriage 55 upon which the pins54 are mounted operating within the slot 51 to control said pinsdepending upon the elevation of the shelf.

The shelf is operated through the link '56 pivotally connected with therod 57 which is engaged by the cam 24 for raising and lowering it toraise and lower said shelf.

The'shoe 32 is actuated through the arm 58, being connected therewith bythe rod 59 sliding in the pivotally mounted collar 60. The lower end ofsaid lever is pivoted at 61 to the frame and-provided-with the slot62-embracing connected therewith. For reproducing a record, there is theusual reproducer 64 mounted on the tone arm 65 which is elevated fromengagement with the'record through the pin 66 extending through theswivel mounting 67.

The lower end of the pin 66 rides upon' the periphery of the cam 25which acts to maintain the reproducer in elevated position forrecord-chang'ing purposes until the cam is moved to a position topresent the recessed portion 25a to the lower end of the pin which dropstherein and thereby lowers the reproducer into record engaging position.The tone arm is caused to swing beyond the periphery of the record afterhaving been raised therefrom by the arm 68 having one end connected withthe tone arm at 69 and the other end bearing against the flange-like camportion 25b of the cam 25.

A suitable control switch, not shown, is provided for energizing therecord-changing motor 17 upon completion of the record, de-energizingsaid motor and energizing the turntable motor 13 upon the record andreproducer being brought to reproducing position, as well understood inthe art.

In operation of the device as a whole, it may be assumed that the lowercompartment 28 of the magazine is empty while the upper compartment is,filled with records 30. The shelf 53 is in lowered position below theturntable and the record is positioned on the turntable forreproduction. The motor 17 first operates to move the cam 25 slightly tocause the reproducer to swing over the record through the medium of theflange 25b and be lowered into playing position through engagement of.the pin 66 in the recess 25a. Thereupon, the motor 17 is deenergizedwhile the motor 13 has previously been energized to rotate theturntable.

Upon completion of the record, the movement 115 ofthe reproducer in theusual eccentric or spiral groove of the record actuates a circuitcontrol to energize the motor 1'? and thereupon de-energize the motor13. The cam 25 willthereupon be driven through the gear 19 and chain 20so as to raise the pin 66 and reproducer from the turntable and thenswing the reproducer out of engagement with the record through themedium of the flange 25b. The cam 24 will then come into play to elevatethe shelf 53 which will pick the record up from the turntable and causeit to slide against the retaining pin 54. Saidpin will gradually beretracted until the record is released therefrom upon the shelf reachingits maximum height.v The reproduced record 31 will thereupon bedischarged by gravity from the shelf into the lower compartment Duringthis operation the pin 63 on the cam 25 will have caused the shoe 32 toslide a record from the top of the stack onto the lowering shelf, thepin 54 having been slightly elevated to prevent the record from slidingtherefrom.

At the same time, the ratchet teeth 41 will be given. a half revolution,but without effecting the magazine due to the non-engagement of thelatch 42a for the reasons above described. The shelf 53 will then lowerthe record onto the turntable over the centering pin 16, the motor 13will be energized for rotating the turntable, the flange 25b will swingthe reproducer over the record and the recess 250 will permit it to belowered into playing Position.-

When the last record has been withdrawn from the upper compartment 27 ofthe magazine and the reproduced records placed in the lower compartment28, the fingers 46 will drop to such a position as to release the latch42a so that upon the next record-changing action the magazine will bereversed so as to carry the reproduced records to the top in reverseposition. Thereupon, the cycle will be repeated; the

records being transferred from the upper compartment so that theirreverse sides will be reproduced.

The inventioncla'imed is:

1. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of the'turntable for containing a stack ofrecords supported one upon the other to be reproduced on said turntable,means for movably supporting said magazine mechanism for sliding arecord from the top of the stack, transferring it to horizontalpositionon, said turntable and returning the same after reproduction to saidmagazine, and means for reversing the position of said magazineforpermitting a reproduced record to be repositioned upon said turntable inreverse position.

2. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of the turntable for containing a stack ofrecords supported one upon the other to be reproduced on said turntable,means for movably supporting said magazine mechanism for sliding arecord from the top of the stack, transferring it to horizontal positionon said turntable and returning the same after reproduction tosaidmagazine, andwneans for turning said magazine so as to present thebottom side to the top for reversing the position of the records thereinwhereby, upon repositioning said records on said turntable, they will bepresented with their playing sides reversed.

3. "In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of the turntable for containing aplurality of records to be reproduced on said turntable, means formovably supporting said magazine beyond the periphery thereof, means fortrans-- ferring a record-from one side ofsaid magazine to said turntablefor reproduction and returning'it from said'turntable to the other sideof said magazine. after reproduction, and means for reversing theposition of said magazine for presenting the reproduced records fortransfer to said turntable in reverse position, whereby -the oppositeside thereof will be reproduced.

4. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one. side of theturntable for containing aplurality of records to be reproduced thereon, means for supporting saidmagazine, means for transferring a record onto said turntable in playingposition from one side of said magazine and returning it-afterreproduction from said turntable to the other side thereof, and meansfor reversing said magazine and records for permitting a reproducedrecord to be repositioned upon said turntable in reverse position toplay the other side thereof. '5. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatableturntable, a magazine positioned wholly to one side of said turntablefor containing a stack of records supported one upon the other to bereproduced on said turntable, meansfor supporting' said magazine,mechanism for sliding records from the top of the stack, transferringthem to .horizontalposition to said turntableandfrom said turntable; tosaid magazine, said means being assisted by gravity in the sliding ofsaid records on their face, and means for reversing the position of saidrecords in the magazine for repositioning the reproduced records on saidturntable in reverse position.

6. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of said turntable for containing astackrof records supported one upon the other to be re? produced on saidturntable, mechanism for sliding a record from the top of the stack,trans-r ferring it to horizontal position onto said turntable forreproduction thereof and-returningsaid record to said magazine afterreproduction, and means for rotating said magazine a half revolutionabout a diametrically extending axis for reversing the same and therecords contained therein whereby a reproduced record will be carriedinto position for transfer to said turntable with its sides reversed.

7. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazine havingupper and lower compartments therein for containing a plurality ofrecords to be reproduced in one compartment and reproduced records inthe other compartment, means for transferring a record from the firstmentioned compartment onto said turntable for reproduction thereof andfrom said turntable to the last 'mentioned compartment afterreproduction, and means for reversing the position of said compartmentsfor carrying the records in the second mentioned compartment in reverseposition for transfer to said turntable whereby the opposite sidethereof will be reproduced. I

8. In an automatic phonograph, ,a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of said turntable for containing a stackof records supported one, upon the other to be reproduced on saidturntable, mechanism for positively sliding a record from the top of thestack, transferring it to horizontal placement on said turntable, andraising the record after reproduction from the turntable in position toslide by gravity back into said magazine, and means for reversing theposition of said magazine for causing the reproduced records to be sopositioned as to be positively transferred to said turntable with theirfaces reversed.

-9. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazinepositioned wholly to one side of said turntable for containing aplurality of records to be reproduced thereon-,-means for sliding arecord from said magazine for placement on said turntable, a pivotallymounted shelf for raising a reproduced record from said turntable inposition to slide by gravity back into said magazine, and means forturning said magazine bottom side up so as to reverse said recordswhereby the reproduced records will be in position to be slidablytransferred to said turntable for reproduction of the opposite sidethereof.

10-. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable transferred upon saidturntable for reproduction of the opposite sides thereof.

11. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazine havingan upper and lower compartment adapted to contain a plurality of recordsin one of said compartments for reproduction, means for transferring arecord from said last mentioned compartment onto said turntable, meansfor transferring a record from said turntable after; reproduction of oneside,

thereof to the other compartment, means for reversing said magazine sothat the lower compartment will be uppermost and the records reversedwhereby the reproduced records may be transferred onto said turntablefor reproduction of the opposite sides thereof, means for actuating saidmagazine-reversing means upon exhaustion of the records from the firstmentioned oompartment.

12. In an automatic phonograph, a rotatable turntable, a magazine havingan upper and lower compartment adapted to contain a plurality of recordsin said upper, compartment for reproduction, means'for transferring arecord from said upper compartment onto said turntable,

means for transferring a record from said turntable after reproductionof one side thereof to said lower compartment, means forreversing saidmagazine so that the lower compartment will be uppermost and the recordsreversed whereby the reproduced. records may be transferred. onto saidturntable for reproduction of the opposite sides thereof, and means foractuating said magazine reversing means upon ex: haustion of the recordsfrom theupper compartment.

sides of the reproduced record may be presented for reproduction.

JOSEPH ARNOLD DARWIN.

